Albert Welter

Albert Welter is a scholar of East Asian Buddhism, particularly Chinese Buddhism in the Tang to Song Dynasty transition. From 2013, he has served as Professor and Head of the East Asian Studies Department at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and was formerly Chair of the Department of Religion and Culture at the University of Winnipeg (Canada), where he also initiated the East Asian Languages and Cultures program. Welter's work also encompasses a broader interest in Chinese administrative policies toward Buddhism, including Chinese notions of secularism and their impact on religious beliefs and practices. His work also covers Buddhist interactions with Neo-Confucianism and literati culture. His is currently involved in the Hangzhou Region Buddhist Culture Project, supported by the Khyentse Foundation, in conjunction with Zhejiang University, the Hangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, and the Hangzhou Buddhist Academy. His monograph, A Tale of Two Stūpas: Histories of Hangzhou relic veneration through two of its most enduring monuments, is currently in press (Oxford). Another volume, The Future of China’s Past: Reflections on the Meaning of China’s Rise is under review. He has also received funding from the American Council of Learned Societies for an international conference, “Creating the World of Chan/ Sŏn /Zen: Chinese Chan Buddhism and its Spread throughout East Asia.” Dr. Welter's research was supported for many years by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and is widely regarded as an expert in his area of scholarship.